Dredging-machine.



- N. B. BROWARD.

951,360, Paterited Mar. 8, 1910.

N. B. BROWARD.

DREDGING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9, 1909.

- Patented Mar. 8,1910.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NAPOLEON B. BROWARD, OF JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA.

DREDGING'r-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NAPOLEON B. Bnowann, citizen of the United States,residing at Jacksonville, Florida, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Dredging-Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

.i'ly said invention is specifically designed for digging channels orcanals, for drainage mainly, in soft or marshy lands, level orapproximately level. It is of that class in which a rotary cutter isused to disintegrate the soil, and a suction pipe is combined therewith,for the purpose of drawing off and discharging the disintegrated soil.

What especially distinguishes my invention in the art is thesimplification and consequent economy in construction and operation,arising from the mounting of the rotary disintegrator in fixed bearingsdirectly upon the dredge boat, and forming the cuts in the soil, by theaction of the rotary cutter and swinging of the dredge end of the boat,from side to side. Further, in connection with this organization, animportant feature lies in the means for sinking the bow of the boat, inorder to increase the depth of the cut, below the normal depth or draftof the boat.

My said invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 represents, in conventional view, the side elevation of adredge or scow provided with my invention, one end showing the cutter invertical plane and the other end the cutter inclined. Fig. 2 is anenlarged detail view of one end of the dredge or scow showing the cuttermore in detail. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the cutter and itssupport.

In these drawings-A represents the hull of the scow or dredge boat,which may be of any suitable form or dimensions. On the forward end (orupon both ends) is mounted a rotary cutting and receiving head, shown(but not necessarily) in cylindrical form. It is mounted on an axialshaft in bearings, and is turned by suitable mechanism, indicated by thecog wheel B, and any suitable gearing and source of power. Theparticular form shown for illustration, consists of a centralcylindrical post C, fixed at its lower end in a shoe D.

The cutting cylinder E consists of a drum Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed February 9, 1909.

Patented Mar. 8, 1910.

Serial No. 476,929.

or shell, of boiler iron, for example, closed at its upper end. Thisshell is mounted on a sleeve F, f, f surrounding the post. The main partF, has a flange on its upper end bolted to the head of the shell. Thelower end extends to the lower section f.. This is flanged at both ends,the upper being connected to radial arms G, which at their outer endsare attached to the shell and brace and hold it. These may be duplicatedat any point required for strength. The lower end of section f embracesa boss on the shoe, and the upper end of the section f is connected withthe driving cog wheel B, and the flange of its lower end is bolted tothe head. Suitable brass or equivalent bearings are interposed, interioror exterior, where frictional bearings occur. The lower end of the shellE, makes as close a connection as is practicable, with the upper surfaceof the shoe, on which it turns. The periphery of the shell is formedwith rows of holes, set staggered, and each hole is provided with acutter, somewhat in the form of a hood, each set on the rear edge of thehole (considered in the direction of its movement of rotation) anddirectly facin the space between two cutters in the next longitudinalline in front of it, the holes and cutters being so arranged as to coverall the space of the opposing wall of mud or earth on which the machineis working. The arrangement is such that the material cut away from thiswall, by the hooded knives, is directed through the holes, into theinterior of the shell, from which, with the commingled, water, it isexhausted. The immediate means for this exhaustion are indicated by thesuction pipe H, which opens to the interior of the shell at the bottom,and is connected at the other end by any suitable exhausting pumpingapparatus, and discharged into scows or upon the banks of the canal.

The cutting cylinder may be set with its axis vertical or inclinedforward or backward.

The dredge boat may be pivoted upon a spud set in line with its centrallongitudinal axis, or keel line, the spud being set in a longitudinalhole and casing, in the boat, so that the bow of the boat may be swungback and forth, or the boat moved forward as the work progresses, thisreciprocation being accomplished by any suitable or ordinary means.Thus, the boat being advanced with its cutters pressed into the materialthis is removed by the revolution, while the reciprocation of the bow ofthe boat feeds the cutters laterally from side to side.

My invention also includes another important feature. In order to give adepth of canal greater than the depth of the dredge boat, I depress thebow according to the depth required. This depression may be secured bymeans of ordinary water tanks or bulkhead compartments, which can i befilled or emptied by any suitable means such as the usual valves andpumps. The more the bow is depressed the deeper the cut. Such acompartment is indicated by dotted lines at X in Fig. 1.

I claim substantially as described:

1. In a dredge boat adapted to swing at the bow from side to side of thechannel cut, to operate on the whole surface at the end of the cut, ahollow cylinder rotatable in fixed bearings on the forward end of theboat and arranged with its bearings in a substantially vertical linesaid cylinder having openings into the interior of the cylinder, andexterior cutters for removing the soil and directing it to the interior,means for rotating the said cylinder, and means for exhausting the soiland water, substantially as described.

2. In a dredge boat adapted to swing at the bow from side to side of thechannel cut, to operate on the whole surface at the end of the out, ahollow cylinder rotatable in fixed bearings on the forward end of theboat and arranged with its bearings in a substantially vertical linesaid cylinder having openings into the interior of the cylinder, andexterior cutters for removing the soil and directing it to the interior,means for rotating the said cylinder, and means for exhausting the soiland water opening into the bottom of the cylinder, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a dredge boat adapted to swing at the bow from side to side of thechannel cut, to operate over the whole surface at the end of the cut, ahollow cylinder rotatable on a substantially vertical shaft in fixedbearings on the forward end of the boat, said cylinder extendingsubstantially from the bottom of the boat to the top of the cut andhaving cutters and openings for cutting the soil and directing it to theinterior, and means for exhausting the soil and water, substantially asdescribed.

t. A dredge boat carrying a vertically arranged cylinder having cuttersand openings for removing the soil and directing it to the interior,said cylinder extending from the bottom of the boat substantially to thetop of the cut, a shoe I) carried on the bottom of the boat at itsforward end forming the bottom of the cylinder and an exhaust pipeopening into the cylinder through said shoe, substantially as described.

A dredge boat adapted to swing at the bow from side to side of the cut,a hollow cylinder at the bow rotatable in fixed bearings substantiallyvertical, said cylinder extending from the bottom of the boatto the topof the out, and provided with openings and cutters whereby the soil iscut and directed to the interior, means for rotating the cylinder, meansfor exhausting the soil and water from the cylinder, and a water tightcompartment in the bow of the boat for depressing the same, allsubstantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

NAPOLEON B. BROIVARD. Vitnesses:

J. M. BARRS, HARVIE DU VAL.

